Tuesday, 31 May 2016

Yesterday I showed you the Part 1 of the video I took
when I walked round Mount Stewart Lake, near Newtownards in May. Today we commence part 2 as we ascend the
steps up to the Tír na nÓg. This name means "Land of the Young" in
Irish mythology and folklore. Once again, get a cuppa coffee, sit back,
relax and enjoy. If you missed the first part yesterday, CLICK HERE.

There are birds on the lake. If the video does not appear below, CLICK HERE.

There was a blue flowered plant in the video that I had forgotten the name of when I was recording and I can now tell you, it is Echium candicans.

Monday, 30 May 2016

All last week, I took you on a fairly energetic but
spectacular walk at the Gobbins cliff- path, in County Antrim however for the
next 3 day we are going to amble slowly round Mount Stewart Lake, near Newwtownard in Northern Ireland. The video was too long to show you it all at
once so I have made 3 shorter ones. So get a cuppa coffee, sit back, relax
and enjoy.

If the video does not appear above,CLICK HERE

I know from my statistics that not everyone watches my videos however I do hope that today and for the next 2 days, you will stop your busy schedules and relax for 5 mintues to see the beauty that is around you.

Sunday, 29 May 2016

My
letters have been straightforward and sincere; nothing is written between the
lines! And even though you don’t know me very well (I hope someday you will), I
want you to try to accept me and be proud of me as you already are to some
extent; just as I shall be of you on that day when our Lord Jesus comes back
again.

2
Corinthians 1:13-14

May 2016

This is my last image from the Gobbins series I have been posting about all last week. It is a very unusual sight to see a letter box like this in Northern ireland, however it is at the top of a very steep path that lead down to the few properties nearing the beginning of the Gobbins cliff-path.

I hope you have enjoyed the series and if you missed any posts, here are the links below.

Saturday, 28 May 2016

As we were mainly a bird group we asked George, our guide if we could spend more time looking at the main colony of birds that we found
at the end of our Gobbins walk. There
were Razorbill, Common Guillemot, Shag, Kittiwake,

Common Guillemot, Shag nesting and Cormorant flying
by.

Razorbill.

Common Guillemot

Common Guillemot and Shag

Common Guillemot and Kittiwake

Puffin

This memorial that you see here was erected by friends
of the deceased to commemorate "The Pickie Boys," a group of, Queens
University Belfast, students who rented Burnside cottage near Woodside's farm
above us during Easter and summer holidays.

The group included Walter Newell a
highly accomplished rugby player and his friend Billy Edwards. These two
amongst others described how they loved spending glorious summers in the
Gobbins and Islandmagee. Sadly Lance Corporal Newell was killed in action in
1915 serving with the Black watch regiment along with his two brothers. Capt.
Billy Edwards also died, killed in action in 1917. The monument was erected in
fond memory of "The Pickie Boys," shortly after the war.

I have only one more photograph to show you and that will be on tomorrow's post as we reach the top again and join the bus. All the past Gobbins links will be on that post.I am linking this post with SATURDAY CRITTERS.However, I would like to thank all of you who came on this walk with us.Now on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, we are off walking again however this time it will be very leisurely, on the level and very beautiful. In fact, I have made 3 videos from the walk I did last week round Mount Stewart lake. You do not want to miss it.Many thanks for joining me on the Gobbins walk and to all those who leave comments.

Friday, 27 May 2016

It is time for Weekend Reflections and Friday’s Hunt
again. The word prompts are - the letter V, Favourite and Sunshine. When I went down to my old caravan recently to cut my grass, I spied this one VERY small VUNERABLE VIOLA and took 3 shots of it, then I did a little playing with the images and the results are seen below. Perhaps YOU have a favourite? Please VOTE! Of course V is also for VIDEO so I will show you that at the end of this post to brighten up your day.

Nearing the end of our Gobbins walk that I have been
sharing with you this week, this VERY
VERTICAL wind vane came into VIEW with its reflection being VISIBLE in this small pond.

Now this VIDEO shows a VARIETY of wonderful coloured Tulips and on any dull day (and we have had many this week) will bring a splash of SUNSHINE to your day. Photographed in Ward Park which is 2 minutes walk away from my home. CLICK HERE if it does not appear below.

Thursday, 26 May 2016

I hope you are still on this Gobbins cliff-path walk
with me and today I will tell you a bit about the bridges. A series of 15 new bridges and 6 new gallery
structures (which hug the side of the cliff) were constructed and installed
during 2014-15. The path includes an iconic new Tubular Bridge.
Weighing over 5.4 tonnes, it was craned into position on the 22nd October 2014.

This is a cave we passed and I heard Pigeons cooing in it.

Visitors can once again enjoy the 22m-long tunnel,
including a section which runs below sea-level. Four of the new bridges are
over 30 metres in length.

There are a total of 1,400 steps we have to climb!

You may be glad to hear, we are now on our way back.

I loved the different views from the bridges.

Now the hundreds of birds on this cliff are probably to
hard to see but I will be showing you close ups of Razorbill, Common Guillemot, Shag
and Puffin with a video clip on Saturday’s Critters.

As I looked out at the Irish Sea, I saw this lone
fishing boat hard at work.

As we were entering the tubular bridge on our way back,
George, our guide, said we should take a group photograph.

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

The Gobbinsis an Area of Special Scientific Interest. High cliffs, hidden ledges and rich fishing make a magnet for many kinds of birds, and yesterday I showed you 'close encounters with the Kittiwakes'. CLICK HERE for that post.

This spiral stairway (which we did not climb) lead up to a top pathway which at present is not completed and therefore not open as yet.

The old path at The Gobbins was a
fee-paying visitor attraction. Ticket collectors, like retired railwayman Sam
Cuthbert, sat before Wise's Eye from 10am to 5pm each day in the summer season.
If you had come by train he would check your railway ticket. If you came under
your own steam, you paid a fee. A gate across Wise's Eye kept people off the
old path out of hours. It is kept locked
permanently and every guide has a key to open the gate.

Okay, let's go and mind your head!

The Fulmar bird always nest very high up on the cliffs so it was a matter of craning ones neck up to see them and try and get a shot.

Great care has been taken to ensure the path
at The Gobbins does not impact on the local birdlife.

Thanks to the very different habitats created by the
sea, the rocks, with this wonderful Lichen on it and cliffs, have a great variety of plants, ferns and also grasses can be
found amongst the caves, ledges and rocks of The Gobbins. The path allows
visitors rare access to treasures such as the Bell- like Sea Campion, Kidney Vetch, Thrift and Spleenwort.

Now we have come to the tunnel. It is very narrow and much darker than it
looks in my shots as I used flash. We had to be very careful where we walked but George kept us right and very safe.

As we went down there were these 6 small steps

before the big climb up again.

I was first up, thus enabling me to take this shot and what is wonderful about it is that my friend Linda, in the pink at the top, has been terrified of heights all her life but decided that this walk just might cure her. You can see she can even look down and she was thrilled as was the rest of the group and George when we told them at luchtime that she had conquered her fear.

Now, I am sure some of you are out of breath after that big climb so we will continue our walk tomorrow with more bridges/fences to see.

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About Me

I have retired from a medical background, from teaching a 3 year City and Guilds; and also running a Bed and Breakfast. I have taken up bird watching later in life however I became very enthusiastic from the beginning and was greatly encouraged by other bird watchers. For the past 8 years I have led a bird group in my town and have become a guest speaker on cruise shipstalking about Birds around the world. I have travelled quite a bit,in particular to Australia where one of my daughters lives. I have now as many birding friends there as at home in Northern Ireland. I love Nature and being able to share that with others of like mind. I also like photography and do my best to photograph birds although I sometimes get a bit frustrated as my zoom is just not powerful enough.

My daughter and family that were in Australia have now moved to Malawi to work and I have visited them several times as well as visiting Zambia. I.live in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK and it is a beautiful place to live however I love travelling and wil continnue to travel aslong as I am able. I would love to go to visit bloggers that I follow and they are always very welcome here in N. Ireland.